Tech giant Google is trying out the telehealth waters, after reports last week confirmed the company was in the trial phase of a video-based platform that connects consumers searching online for health data with physicians. 

 

Google officials confirmed this in an email to Healthcare IT News.

 

[See also: Google cloud gets on board with HIPAA.]

 

"When you're searching for basic health information – from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning – our goal is provide you with the most helpful information available," a Google spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. "We're trying this new feature to see if it's useful to people."

 

The temporary trial, officials pointed out, is being run with Google's platform Helpouts, a service which enables consumers to get live video help from experts on a wide variety of topics – everything from getting a live Portuguese language lesson to how to properly use your inhaler. The testing period will allow Google to ascertain if this real-time physician access could be beneficial to consumers. 

 

[See also: Google Glass links to EHR.]

 

One Reddit member had posted a screen shot of the the feature after searching for "knee pain" on his smartphone, detailing what the service looked like. Following the search, a box popped up detailing a list of healthcare providers available for a telehealth consult regarding the specific health condition. All visit costs, according to Google, are covered during this trial period.